What Happens In Vegas
by Team Damon
Summary: Elena decides to let loose before her upcoming wedding to Stefan, and who better to help than Damon? Now complete
1. Chapter 1

Elena stared blankly at the shiny diamond ring on her left hand and made up her mind. If Stefan was going to leave for a celebratory "week with old friends" - who knew Stefan actually had friends? - in Italy, well then, Elena was going to have a special week of her own, too. Ever since she and Stefan had gotten engaged, this desire had been itching at her, and darn it, she was just going to _do it_.

Elena Gilbert was going to party.

The problem was, she wasn't all that sure _how _to party. Life for the past several years had consisted of supernatural catastrophe after another, making her existence an exciting but also very, very serious one. Lately all she knew how to do was brood, and she feared she was turning into Stefan's twin. She loved him and was getting ready to pledge her life to him but she didn't want to _be _him.

She was ready to reawaken the fun, adventurous side of her that hadn't been seen in… well, awhile. But exactly how was she going to do this? And more importantly, who with?

There was always Bonnie. But the type of fun Elena wanted probably was too much for her delicate flower of a friend to handle. Meredith, maybe? Nah, she'd just stare at Elena like she was crazy. Plus, Alaric was in town this month and there was no stealing her away from his side. How about Matt? Probably not, the supernatural catastrophes had aged him prematurely and he was off in college anyway. That left Elena with… Caroline. That was not an option for more than one reason.

For a moment Elena despaired, thinking her party week was DOA, but then the most obviously perfect person for the job popped into her head and she could have slapped herself for not thinking of him first. Who knew how to live it up better than Damon Salvatore?

A month ago the idea would have seemed impossible. Damon had taken the news of the engagement a little more than slightly bad and disappeared for awhile. But he had returned, and things were getting back to normal. He was even going to be Stefan's best man, and he appeared to have accepted defeat in the race to win Elena's heart. He moved out of the boarding house and into his own place, and he and Elena were back to being friends. Elena was overjoyed. In some ways he was her best friend, more than even Bonnie and Meredith, joined on an entirely other level due to their overwhelming similarities.

Of course, spending a week alone (and probably mostly drunk) with Damon would most likely not make Stefan happy, no matter how platonic Damon seemed these days. So, as her first act of rebellion against Old Serious Elena, New Fun Elena decided to not tell Stefan. Gasp.

She positively tingled with satisfaction and knew she needed this even more than she previously thought.

But first, she needed to make sure her partner in crime was up for the job.

From her bed Elena reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone, her hands almost shaking in pure excitement as she scrolled through her contacts. When she got to the only "D" in her phone she pressed dial and couldn't get the smile off her face.

He answered after one ring. "Go for Damon," came the familiar cocky voice.

She rolled her eyes at his version of "hello". "Damon!" Her voice came out loud and _very _squeaky.

"Elena!" he shouted back, her girlish scream a bit startling. "Why are we shouting?"

"Because! Okay, I have an idea. And I think you're going to love it."

"Really? Does it involve you naked?" he quipped, enjoying the sound of her responding laugh. He knew that she understood the suggestive jokes would _never _end, no matter who she was marrying.

"No, sorry. You know how Stefan is in Italy this week with his friends for some kind of long bachelor party or something?"

"Stefan has _friends_? O-M-G, no way!"

Elena laughed and then continued. "Anyway, I figured that if he gets a week of fun then I do too. I mean I haven't had fun in like years and I don't want to forget how to and turn into a boring old married lady."

"A _week of fun_? Where do I fit into this, 'cause trust me, if I'm involved, you will _have _be naked at some point."

"Oh, Damon, stop! I want to get trashed. I want to be irresponsible and stupid. I want to just be crazy for once in my life, you know? And I love my other friends but they aren't exactly the get-crazy types." Elena imagined Bonnie drunk and giggled at the thought.

"And what does my dear little brother think of this?" Damon inquired.

"Well, I haven't told him. That's kinda the point. Irresponsible and stupid, remember?"

"Well, well!" Damon mused, "I think I'm going to like this version of Elena a _lot_."

"So I take that as a yes?"

"Please, you have to ask? If you're being drunk and stupid, I'm _there_. Who knows what might happen!"

"Perfect! Oh my gosh, Damon, you have no idea how much I need this. I think I might need a whole month instead of a week," she sighed.

"Sure I have an idea of how much you need it, you _are _engaged to Stefan after all," he shuddered. "What do you two do for fun, anyway? Discuss your feelings during long soul-searching walks on the beach?"

"Uh… yeah, pretty much," Elena chuckled.

"Eek. Well anyways, where am I taking you for the week?"

"Don't people usually go to Vegas to act stupid?"

Damon laughed. "Ah, Vegas. Yes, I've had my fair share of experiences that happened there and are _staying _there. I will call the airline and pick you up in 15, little miss mid-life crisis."

"Okay. I'm so excited I could explode!" Elena exclaimed before clicking her phone shut. She packed in a hurry and let her friends know through text that she was leaving for the week and not to tell Stefan for super top secret reasons. She knew Bonnie and Mer wouldn't question anything super top secret.

When the red Ferrari pulled up outside the boarding house, Elena all but ran to it.

_Vegas here I come!_


	2. Chapter 2

Elena was having the time of her life and she hadn't even gotten off the plane yet. She and Damon hadn't stopped talking once since boarding the plane, covering the spectrum of topics from marriage, ugly people, international affairs, and the finer points of successfully stalking people. Half the time their conversation would have made no sense to anybody listening, and that was part of what made it so special. They could talk for hours about nothing, laugh about nothing, and carry on an entirely separate conversation just through their eyes.

"Oh, Damon, I missed this so much," Elena finally said, mentioning his earlier absence for the first time. "Seriously, you can't ever go anywhere, you're my best friend."

He smiled gently. "I missed you, too. Stefan, however, eh…"

She giggled for the thousandth time. "How pissed do you think he'll be when he finds out about this?"

"Well, that depends on how many times you are naked in the next week," Damon replied, left eyebrow raised.

"I figure that'll be once a day, or do I have to shower clothed just in case?" she wondered, putting her hand to her chin thoughtfully.

"Oh definitely, I think that's your safest bet," Damon agreed with a laugh.

"But seriously though, do you think he'll be hurt? I mean it's not like before…"

Damon's face grew just a hint serious. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean… you know… me and you are just friends. You aren't trying to steal me away anymore. Stefan knows he can trust you."

_Well then he's more foolish than I thought_, Damon thought to himself. He was silent for a moment before he asked a question he instantly regretted. "He still doesn't know, does he?"

Elena shrank away a little bit. She'd forced herself to nearly forget what he was referring to, and now Damon was bringing it up. "No, I never told him. There wasn't really a point in telling him."

"Of course, because it was nothing, right?" Damon couldn't hide the sarcasm, and just the slightest bit of hurt, in his voice.

Elena bit her lip. "Stop it. You're going to make me regret doing this with you."

Damon angled away from her in his seat and crossed his arms. It would be one thing if Elena had simply chosen Stefan. That was her choice to make. But to choose him and then live in denial of what she had done with Damon when Stefan was in the Dark Dimension, well, that made Elena a coward in Damon's eyes. And the real Elena that he knew was no coward. She was also too much of an untamed bolt of lightning to settle for the role of wife of a bunny killer. Everything about the life she was choosing was all wrong for the true spirit of Elena.

Elena, meanwhile, was fighting off a meltdown. She thought they had gotten past this. She made her choice, and Damon said he accepted it. So why couldn't he just leave it alone? He knew she didn't want her past mistakes ever mentioned again. Was he still just as in love with her as before? Could she trust him on this trip or had she just made another huge mistake?

Her mind was in overdrive when Damon broke the silence. "I'm sorry. It just takes a vampire's pride a little longer to heal than most, I suppose."

She sighed. "It's fine. I'm sorry too. I just don't want to think about anything this week, I just want to…"

"Get wasted and do stupid things," Damon finished for her with a smirk.

"Yes!" she squeaked, slowly finding her way back to fun mode.

"Okay. All serious conversation ends here. Nothing but frivolity and irresponsibility from here on out," Damon announced. And he intended to honor that statement, but that was where his honor ended. He knew he wasn't here to play drinking buddy. As much as Elena loved him as a "best friend", once she said "I do", that would be the last she saw of Damon. He didn't want to tell her that. But as close as they were, he thought, she should know that he wasn't going to stick around for that. She had never been just a friend. From the first time he'd laid eyes on her, she had been the farthest thing from "just" anything. And this was Damon's last ditch effort to try to sway Elena from marrying his brother. If he failed, then he would let them live in peace, and never see either of them again. But if there was any chance… anything still there… then this was the week that he would take advantage of that.

When the plane landed, Damon fetched the rental car - a stunning black Porsche - and they headed to the most expensive hotel on the Vegas strip. Elena was pressed up against the passenger window like a child, dazzled by the city lights and squeaking in joy. Damon laughed heartily at her, though her childlike innocence and wonder was one of the things he loved most about her. She had been through so much, and seen so much, yet all it took was a glittery tall building to send her right back to the Elena she used to be. He hadn't ever met that particular Elena, but he relished the few glimpses that she gave him.

The "oohs" and "ahhs" peaked when they arrived at the ridiculously extravagant hotel where, true to her delightfully immature mood, Elena made it a point to touch _everything _while Damon checked them in. Against his better judgment, he booked two separate rooms for each of them. He knew she'd throw a fit if he tried to only book one, and while that usually wouldn't deter him, he figured it best to pick his battles.

When they got to their rooms, Elena burst into hers and jumped cannonball style into the huge canopy bed. Damon stood outside the door and smiled. This woman was going to be the death of him. "Ready to get started on our amazing adventure of drunken idiocy?"

"Oh yeah, but after that plane ride this bed just feels so _good_," she moaned, stretching out her limbs.

"Does it? Maybe I should join you and see for myself," he replied, eyebrows waggling.

"Nah, I'm sure yours is just as comfy," she smirked back.

"Ouch. Gosh, Elena, I have _feelings_, you know," he replied, doing his best imitation of a choked up Stefan. "Delicate, vulnerable _feelings_!"

She tossed a pillow at him. "Okay, let's go. Where to?"

"Well, that depends. Are you in the mood for gambling, dancing, or getting hitched by a fat guy in a white jumpsuit?"

"Hmm… gambling sounds pretty irresponsible!"

Damon smirked. "Casino it is."


	3. Chapter 3

Elena took a quick shower and blew out her hair before excitedly rummaging through her luggage to find something to wear to the casino. She wasn't sure exactly how to dress, so she went with a pretty flowy top and some jeans. She was checking her reflection in the mirror when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she called, knowing who it was. The door opened and Damon entered, and when Elena turned to grab her purse, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him.

Damon was stunning. His hair was still wet from his shower, and his smell filled the room when he walked into it. He was dressed in black pants, black suit jacket, and a white button down shirt with the top buttons ajar. That's right, _white_. Elena had never seen Damon in anything but black, and she now decided that that was most likely a good thing, considering the reaction she was having.

"I know that I am absolutely mouth wateringly gorgeous, Elena, but you're drooling and frankly that's just _embarrassing _for you. But I'm extremely flattered." She snapped out of her daze and then Damon looked her over. "You're seriously wearing _that_?"

"What?" she asked, looking down at her outfit and shrugging.

"We're making a pit stop on the way," Damon said with a roll of his eyes, grabbing Elena's hand and leaving her room.

…

"Why are we stopping here?" Elena asked as Damon pulled into a boutique of some sorts.

"Because you are going to walk in there and find seven different dresses for each night that we are here," he replied in a very "duh" tone.

"But I'm fine with what I have and besides, I can't really afford this when I'm about to lose my savings gambling."

Damon rolled his eyes, exasperated, and exited the car. Before she could open her door it was already open, and Damon stood with his hand out to help her out of the Porsche. "Let's just say this one's on me, okay?"

Elena wanted to argue but arguments with Damon were usually pointless. She took his hand and muttered, "Oh joy, shopping."

"You're a girl, you're supposed to like shopping," Damon replied as they walked in the store, only noticing how long he had held on to her hand when she discreetly reclaimed it. "Besides, I doubt you have a problem finding things that look good on you seeing as you're perfect."

Elena blushed involuntarily, and Damon would have flushed too if his body were capable of it. Obviously that was not something he could say to Elena in a "friend" capacity. But then again, wasn't he here to surpass that particular status once and for all?

Elena looked slowly through the racks of clothes, and Damon occupied himself by watching her, memorizing the way she moved, the way she walked, the way she squinted at price tags even though she knew she wasn't going to be paying a dime. He loved the way she'd flip her soft blonde hair out of the way when it started to annoy her, and how her eyes would get big when she found a dress she _really _liked. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact with him, and Damon considered that a small victory. He was getting to her. As much as his color would always be black, he knew to break out the white when he was serious about seduction. And it was working - Elena may have been avoiding his eyes, but she was sneaking many glances at the rest of him.

Armed with six dresses, Elena disappeared into a fitting room and Damon sat down, waiting for her to come out and play model in each of the dresses. In between the fourth and fifth dress, a glimmer of midnight blue caught Damon's eye from a nearby rack. On a whim, he got up to inspect the fabric.

The dress was pure silk, midnight blue with gold flecks streamed through it. It was as if it had been made to resemble Elena's lapis lazuli eyes. Damon checked the size and brought it to the dressing room, where he knocked gently.

"I found your seventh dress," Damon announced with pride.

"Okay, hold on, I'm naked."

"'Come on in, Damon, I'm naked'? My pleasure," Damon smirked, gaining the attention of several shoppers.

Elena opened the door and held out her hand. "Guess I walked into that one." She looked at the dress and smiled. "Well, I think I know why you picked this one."

Damon shrugged. "It doesn't compare to the real thing."

Elena grabbed the dress and closed the door before he could see her blush again.

_Come on, Elena, pull yourself together. You can't let yourself go down that road again, _Elena told herself repeatedly as she stepped into the dress. Somewhere in her mind, she decided that if she couldn't change the effect that Damon had on her, then she would live in intense, unyielding denial of it. What else could she do?

When she walked out of the dressing room, Damon's eyes took her in and Elena suddenly felt uncomfortable. She had seen this look in his eyes before - hungry, focused, passionate, determined to have her - and she knew what it meant. Guilt then overtook her.

Here she was, a matter of days before her wedding to Stefan, and she was torturing his brother who was just as deeply in love with her as Stefan was. Wonderful. What a wonderful future sister-in-law. What a wonderful future _wife_.

"You're beautiful," Damon said quietly, breaking the silence. Elena's eyes grew sad and she turned away and went back into the dressing room. Damon sighed deeply and clenched his fists in frustration.

When Elena re-emerged, Damon took the dresses from her and paid for them in silence. Elena chose to wear the third dress, a black cocktail dress, and knew she'd never wear the blue one. Not after Damon's reaction. She'd sneak out and return it, somehow, she decided.

The car ride to the casino was dead silent, save for the almost inaudible purr off the engine. Elena was as still as a statue, wishing something, anything, would happen, just so the silence would break.

Then her phone went off, causing both Damon and Elena to jump silently. Elena fished it out of her bag and flipped it open, reading a new text from Stefan.

Stefan. Why did his name make her feel so guilty? What had she done wrong?

_I love you, my beautiful fiancée, _the text read. _I miss you so much. _

_I love you too, _Elena replied. _Having fun in Italy?_

_Not as much as I would be having if I were with you. What are you up to?_

Elena gulped. _Not much._

"What's wrong?" Damon asked.

"Nothing," Elena sighed. "I just hate lying."

_Then stop lying to yourself_, Damon almost said.

…

Inside a very ritzy casino, Damon threw back his fifth glass of Scotch and Elena drank up her (first? second?) fruity cocktail like it was Kool-Aid. This wasn't going according to plan.

"Why am I losing?" Elena bemoaned, watching as yet more of her money was lost to some fat guy chewing on a cigar across the blackjack table.

"Because you won't let me Influence the dealer," Damon replied, sitting next to her and attempting to coach her on the finer points of successful gambling.

Elena sighed. "Maybe gambling isn't my thing."

"Maybe you should have used my money like I offered."

"Whatever, this is just Stefan's money, anyway," she said flippantly. She then realized what she had just said and muttered, "I need another cocktail."

"Noted," Damon replied, getting up. When he returned he had both a cocktail for Elena and an entire bottle of Scotch for himself.

Elena sipped her glass and eyed Damon in confusion. "Can you even get drunk?"

"If I drank about six of these, yes," he replied. "That's not why I'm drinking. It calms the cravings."

"Oh, Damon. When was the last time you…"

"You just won," Damon pointed out, interrupting her.

"What?" Elena looked down at the table and then started squealing. "Oh my God! I won!"

Her luck seemed to have turned around, and she continued winning. She quit only when Damon advised it, and walked away from the blackjack table with $500 she didn't have before.

On their way to a poker table, Elena remembered what she had been so vexed about before she had starting winning and got distracted. "Damon, when was the last time you fed?"

"I'm fine, Elena," he muttered, taking a swig out of his Scotch bottle.

"I've heard that before," Elena replied. "Let's just go and you can find some… dinner."

"Who says we have to go somewhere else for me to find dinner?"

"Okay, so go find somebody, I'll be at the poker table," Elena shrugged.

"And leave you alone, unprotected, in Las Vegas?" Damon seemed appalled by the idea.

"We're in a very high class casino, Damon, I think I'll be fine."

"Doesn't matter. I'm fine. C'mon, what happened to fun, reckless Elena?" Damon asked good-naturedly, poking her with an elbow.

"Well, I kinda don't want the vampire escorting me through Vegas to starve himself and end up binging and leave a trail of dead bodies in our wake," Elena whispered just in case anyone else could hear her. "I also don't want to be guilted into giving you my blood to prevent that rampage."

Elena knew that the difference between her blood and the average human's blood was like the difference between the finely aged Scotch in Damon's hand and cheap, off brand tequila. She also knew that just being in the same room as Damon was enough to drive him mad with desire for her blood. Yet he desired her in an altogether different way, and far more in that way than he desired her blood. She wondered how he didn't go mad with frustration and anger.

"Fine, I will feed tonight, after we get back to the hotel. Is that okay with you, Mom?" Damon compromised, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it over his arm.

Elena had to wonder why he didn't wear white all the time. The way it contrasted with his skin, his hair, the way the fabric clung to his muscles, the way it made her…

_Oh my God,_ Elena screamed inside her head, hoping he hadn't noticed her staring. He did. _I'm so screwed._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks everybody for the review love! Feedback makes my day! This story was inspired by the "The Good Life" by Three Days Grace, which I tell you cuz I use the song in this chapter, lol. Hope u guys likey :D**

Elena opened her eyes and then snapped them shut, a burst of pain shooting through her head and reminding her of how much she had drank last night. She sat up sluggishly and then froze in complete and utter horror.

She wasn't quite alone in bed.

Lying face down next to her, with limbs extended in four different directions and his raven hair a tangled mess, was, of course, Damon.

Elena peeked under the covers and breathed a sigh of relief. They were both fully clothed. So, they hadn't slept together, but why was he in _her _bed, in _her _room?

"Damon!" came Elena's shrill awakening. He jerked violently and then opened his eyes, shooting up in lightning speed.

"What? What happened?"

"That's what I would like to know!" Elena snapped. "Why are you in my bed?"

He rubbed an eye with the back of his hand and looked around. "I thought this was my bed."

"I don't even remember leaving the casino," Elena realized. "Oh my God, don't let me drink ever again." She collapsed back onto her pillows and whimpered, both at the terrible hangover and her apparent gap in memories.

"How disappointing," Damon muttered, sounding genuinely sad for something.

"What?"

"Well, usually when I sleep with a beautiful woman we don't wake up the next day _fully clothed_," Damon replied with disgust.

"You better be glad we did. If not you would have woke up to me staking you, and not in the chest," Elena growled, eying Damon evilly.

"Ooooh, I'm scared," he mocked, eyes wide and body trembling. "Hold me, Elena."

She tossed a pillow at his smirking face when he tried to get closer to her. "Get out of my bed and leave me alone."

"I'll compromise. I'll get out of your bed, order you up some room service with a side of Advil for you, then meet you at the pool."

Elena couldn't protest. A nice, relaxing morning sounded wonderful. "Deal."

…

After breakfast and a long, hot shower, Elena was starting to feel a little bit better. Damon had gone off when breakfast had arrived, and as she searched her suitcase for her swimsuit she vaguely wondered if he had ever fed. Probably not. He may have been the stronger brother, but at least Stefan didn't starve himself just to… well, why _was _Damon putting off feeding? A reason occurred to her but she quickly pushed it away. But as she made her way to the pool the thought resurfaced. _Maybe he doesn't want to waste any of these rare moments alone with you_.

However, any trace of guilt or sympathy was obliterated once Elena reached the pool. Damon was lounging on a chair, clad in swimming shorts and some rather expensive sunglasses, surrounded by about six half naked women. He appeared to be enjoying himself, and even had one of the girls - a blonde haired and blue eyed one - seated on his lap with an arm around her waist.

Elena suddenly felt strange. Angry? Maybe. Annoyed? Definitely. She couldn't quite put her finger, though, on the dominant emotion…

_Jealousy_. There it was.

She wanted to turn around and go back to bed, but her pride wouldn't allow that. Instead, she walked tall to a chair on the other side of the pool and plopped herself down, trying not to glare at Damon. That would only prove to him that he was getting to her. And that would badly impede Elena's execution of Operation Denial.

She slid off her sunglasses and stretched out, closing her eyes and turning on her iPod, intent on drowning out the sound of those stupid girls' giggling.

The first notes of a song rang out and Elena smiled. Here she was, soaking up the sun at the most expensive hotel in Vegas, on the vacation of her life. She wasn't going to let Damon's games get her down.

_The good life is_

_What I need_

_Too many people_

_Stepping over me_

Elena sighed. It was true. She _needed _this. Freedom, fun, occasional recklessness. She felt like she was getting back to the girl she used to be, just a little bit.

_The only thing that's_

_Been on my mind_

_Is the one thing I need before I die_

_All I want is a little of_

_The good life_

_All I need is to have_

_A good time_

But then Elena's smile faded. What did it mean for her to feel _this much _relief at being away from Stefan and away from life back at Fell's Church? Was this normal for a soon-to-be bride to feel like this?

Maybe, she reasoned, nothing was normal about her current feelings because nothing was normal about anything in her life. Stefan had consumed her life completely when he entered it, and ever since then her world had merely orbited his. But she had chosen that. And she had chosen to become his wife as well. But somewhere along the way, Elena realized, she was starting to lose her identity.

_I don't really know_

_Who I am_

_It's time for me_

_To take a stand_

_I need a change_

_And I need it fast_

_I know that any day_

_Could be the last_

Who was Elena Gilbert? Was she Mrs. Stefan Salvatore, or something more? Did she _want _to be anything more? Was she ready to settle down and enter a life of simplicity and quiet with her vegetarian vampire mate? Should she maybe have asked herself these questions _before _accepting Stefan's proposal? Most likely.

And where did Damon enter all this?

For just a moment, Elena ceased Operation Denial and let herself be honest for once. She loved Damon. She had never stopped. And it wasn't just your average, run of the mill love. It was a fiery, passionate, possessive love that would consume her if she acknowledged it. She didn't want him with anybody. Not Bonnie, not anyone. Secretly - and she would never _ever _say this out loud - she was severely jealous of the girls that Damon fed on. The times when she had given him her blood were some of the most euphoric, unexplainably amazing moments of her life. Even if Damon didn't strive to make it as pleasurable as possible, and he did each time, she knew that it would still be simply among the most exquisite of experiences. Why did any of those girls - girls he would never see again, girls he cared nothing for - deserve something so special?

There was something else she would never say out loud. When she and Stefan shared blood… it was sweet. It was full of love. But it was _nothing _like sharing blood with Damon.

She opened her eyes and watched as Damon walked away with one of the girls. The one who looked like a cheap dollar store version of Elena.

_My breakfast_, Damon told her telepathically.

Elena closed her eyes again and turned up the volume on her music. Unfortunately, it didn't drown out the war going on inside of her own head.

Meanwhile, inside his hotel room, Damon pretended he was looking into deep lapis lazuli eyes, not vacant medium-blue ones. He imagined the hair he was running his fingers through was soft, silky, and pale blonde, not coarse, damaged, and overly bleached. Enjoying his delusion, he told himself that the blood flowing freely down his throat was the pure, heavenly, intensely irresistible blood of his personal angel, Elena, not the cheap, barely satisfying, tequila-tinged blood of this girl who didn't deserve to breathe the same air as her.

No longer able to lie to himself, Damon started getting angry. Angry enough to drink far too much of this low-class blood and consider emptying the vessel completely. He knew that he couldn't, however. He couldn't kill the girl because of _her_. It would disappoint _her_, hurt _her_. And he refused to hurt her, even though she crushed him with her every move.

In the end, he knew he'd take the pain she caused just by looking his way or saying his name. He'd take it and cherish it, because he'd rather writhe in the most excruciating of pain forever than live an eternity of easily gained pleasure if it meant getting to look into those blue eyes. Even if those eyes were looking at his brother and never him.

Damon shook his donor awake and Influenced her away. He then trashed his hotel room and tore it apart with such a fury that he almost felt bad for whoever had to fix it.


	5. Chapter 5

Elena smiled and knew this day was _perfect _in every way. Her dress, her hair, makeup, everything was as she had always dreamed, as were the flowers, the church, the smiling guests. She glided angelically down the aisle and, through her diamond-embellished veil, gazed lovingly upon the man waiting for her at the alter. His back was turned to her, but as she was nearly finished with her walk, he began to turn.

When he did, Elena's eyes grew teary. Stefan gave her that smile that she loved so much and reached out his hand to her. Just as she prepared to take it, another man stepped out from behind Stefan as if out of thin air.

He wore an all white suit in contrast to Stefan's traditional black, but his eyes and silky hair were as dark as the most terrifying nightmare. He stood beside Stefan and held out his hand, blazing straight through Elena's heart and soul through his burning stare.

Elena clutched her bouquet of Black Magic roses for dear life. The two brothers stood with their hands outstretched, waiting patiently for Elena to make her decision.

"Come on, Elena," Stefan smiled. His sweet forest green eyes made her feel safe, loved, and treasured. She loved those eyes with her whole heart. The very thought of not looking into those eyes for eternity made her physically and spiritually hurt.

But she soon did look away, into the eyes of his brother. Damon's midnight orbs made her feel… wild, protected, and loved with a passion so deep that it frightened her. Her heart raced and the roses she was now nearly crushing in her fists wilted, the dark, defeated petals falling into piles around her feet.

Behind her she could make out the voices of her best friends. Bonnie and Meredith were pleading with her, asking her what she was doing, to choose Stefan already. Matt was joining in, threatening to start yet another ill-fated brawl with Damon, as he always was.

But Elena was a statue, frozen, thoughtless, devoid of any coherent thinking. She'd sooner die than have to make this impossible choice and destroy one of the brothers she loved and cherished so much!

And it was then she realized it. She dropped the bouquet altogether and began to weep.

_I've become her. I've become Katherine_.

"Elena?" Damon asked concernedly. "Elena, you had better wake up or else you're going to fry, quite literally."

"What?" She choked out.

"Come on, Elena, Vegas calls."

…

Her eyes fluttered open and slowly focused on the figure in front of her.

"Really, I hope you remembered to at least slather on some SPF 80 or 90 before deciding to fall asleep out here," Damon commented, watching as Elena sat up and dizzily tried to get reacquainted with her surroundings. She was still at the pool, still lying in the chair she had shot daggers at Damon from. "I hear skin cancer is totally _not _all it's cracked up to be."

"Oh my God, it was just a…"

"Huh?"

Her disorientation clearing up, Elena was relieved to have woken up but was still trembling slightly from her nightmare. The wedding, the dying flowers, Stefan and Damon, the impossible choice, the pain, the… white tux? What was with Elena and the color white on Damon? "Nothing."

"Are you feeling okay? Possibly suffering from heat stroke, maybe?"

"I'm fine, Damon," Elena muttered, standing up and immediately heading back down. Damon caught her and lowered her back to the chair.

"Whoa, easy there. Here, drink some water," Damon suggested, producing a bottle of water. He unscrewed the lid and held it up to her lips as if she were a child. She drank a bit and then laid her head down, still seeing stars. Damon gently swept a few stray blonde hairs away from Elena's sweat-dampened face, then before she knew it, she was in his arms and being whisked away to air conditioning. She was glad to escape the heat but still felt sickened from her nightmare, and when she felt Damon's mind starting to probe hers she instantly shut him out. He didn't need to know about this. Nobody did.

Damon took Elena to her hotel room and laid her down on her bed, giving her the water bottle again and sitting down beside her.

"You know I _am _okay," Elena muttered, sipping the water. "It's not the first time I've stayed out in the sun too long and got lightheaded."

Damon shrugged, looking her over and then staring off at the walls.

"How was 'breakfast'?" Elena asked, barely masking the edge in her voice.

"Oh, speaking of that," Damon said, standing up and turning on his blinding smile, "I'm going to have to spend a few nights in your room… let's just say that mine is undergoing a few 'renovations'."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena spat.

"Calm down, I'll take the couch," Damon replied, hands up defensively.

"Damon, if this is some scheme or something you thought up…"

"Oh, trust me, this I did _not _plan, but I think I _do _like how it turned out."

Elena rolled her eyes at Damon's grin. "Fine, whatever. I'm not in the mood to argue."

"Seemed like you were having quite the dream out there," Damon casually mentioned, not anticipating Elena to shoot up in bed in response.

"What? Oh my God, Damon, were you in my head? You made me have that dream, didn't you?" she asked accusatorily.

"I'm offended, Elena!" Damon said in mock-horror, bringing a hand to his unbeating heart. He then smiled and replied, "No, I had nothing to do with whatever you dreamed. But you were moaning and almost crying before I woke you up."

Elena drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, it was a bad one."

"Why, was it about your upcoming wedding night? Because I wouldn't blame you, most people _would _consider that a nightmare, it's perfectly normal," Damon said with a sympathetic look.

Elena couldn't help but smile. Damon's sarcasm was annoying at times but he could make his worst enemy laugh. "Trust me, nothing to worry about _there_," Elena muttered and instantly wondered why she would say that. To Damon, of all people.

"What do you mean?"

Elena sighed. "Nothing. Forget I said that."

"I'd rather not," Damon replied, sitting back down on the bed. "Explain."

Elena glared at him. Damon smirked and she rolled her eyes. "You're not going to stop bothering me until I tell you, are you?"

"Have we met?" Damon replied, his smirk getting bigger.

"Okay fine, but this goes _nowhere_. I mean it, Damon. Especially Stefan."

Damon held up his right hand. "I swear on my… un-life."

Elena cleared her throat. "You know how my blood supposedly turns vampires into horny teenage boys?"

"Better than most," Damon nodded, eyebrows wagging.

"Well, let's just say… Stefan is… a bit immune."

Damon's amused expression faded instantly and he stared blankly at Elena's reddening face.

"Immune."

Elena nodded.

Damon squinted, trying to make sense of this strange concept. "You mean to tell me that… my brother… doesn't want to… _consummate _things… the traditional way?"

She shook her head. "Well, he says he will, for me, if I want to. But he says it's just not in his nature and he doesn't respond… that way, and hasn't since he turned. He's content sharing blood."

"But you aren't," Damon concluded.

"Well, I'm human," Elena shrugged. "I have… needs." She cringed at the words.

"And you don't want to take his offer because you know his interest won't really be there."

"Pretty much," Elena nodded. "So there, I told you."

Damon seemed to be lost in thought, and even a bit angry. He didn't understand how his idiot brother could have such a non-reaction to this beautiful woman, vampire or not. Damon had always had a desire for Elena that exceeded the normal parameters of vampire nature, but when she returned from beyond it had gone into overdrive. He had told her it was because of her newly angelic blood, but now he wasn't so sure. If her blood didn't have the same effect on Stefan, then maybe it was just _Elena _that brought out the long-dead human in Damon.

Elena tried to read what was going on inside Damon's head but he was as closed off to her as she had been to him just moments ago. So she decided to just ask. "What are you thinking about?"

Damon just shook his head, opening his mouth but closing it when no words came out.

"Are you… speechless?"

Elena then burst into laughter. She had never seen Damon Salvatore speechless, yet here he was, utterly mute in the wake of her nonexistent sex life. She was doubled over in her giddy laughter, and Damon soon joined her, laughing so hard he nearly cried.

"And h-here's the kicker," Elena sputtered out, "I'm going to be the world's only married virgin!"

At this they began laughing even harder. This went on for what felt like forever, until they were both lying on their backs, trying to catch their breath, wiping the tears that had fallen from the laughter. There was a moment of silence, and then Damon finally spoke.

"Stefan can't get it up."

And then the laughter began again.

**A/N: Poor Elena! LOL, anyway I know the story is moving a bit slow-ish, but it's going to start getting where I'm taking it soon, I promise. I should have the next chapter up tomorrow. Thanks to everybody who has reviewed and favorited, much love!**


	6. Chapter 6

Damon was proud of himself. Here he was, in Las Vegas, staying in the same hotel room as the often-drunk Elena, and he hadn't "tried anything" once. Still, it was getting harder with every day. They were practically joined at the hip, and although her confusion was obvious, she wasn't about to call off the wedding. Damon had to make his move, and fast, if he wanted any kind of chance.

"Damon?" came Elena's angelic voice, drifting out of the bathroom where she had just showered.

"Yes, dear?"

He could hear her snort from the couch. "Um, I need a towel. There aren't any clean ones in here."

"Why can't you just stay wet and naked? Better yet, can I fill in _as _the towel?"

"Just get me a freaking towel," she demanded, hiding her tiny, forbidden smile.

In a moment Damon was knocking on the bathroom door, fresh towel in hand, trademark smirk on his face. Elena cracked the door open and snatched the towel, closing it in his face when he tried to peek. "Thanks, perv."

"Hey, at least _I'm _still a functional man."

Elena suppressed a giggle. She dried off her hair and then wrapped the towel around her body. She grabbed her comb from the sink and then turned, her mind drifting as she opened the door. But Damon was still just outside the door, and when she walked out she walked right into him. She let out a little squeak of surprise and dropped her comb as his arms automatically wrapped around her.

"Hmm," Damon murmured as his eyes took her in, "you look good wet."

Elena flushed and turned her face away from his. "Let me go."

"No," came Damon's simple reply.

"_No_?"

Damon nodded, running his fingers through her damp hair, knowing she loved it by the slight shiver his touch brought on. "I will not let you go, Elena, because you don't want me to let you go."

She was about to protest but then his lips were on her neck, and his hand was crushing her hair in it's tight fist, and her whole body felt like it was suddenly on fire.

_You want me_, came Damon's velvet voice in her mind as his lips trailed kisses to her jaw. _Telling yourself that you don't won't change a thing, it's written all over your beautiful face._ Elena closed her eyes and dropped her head back, knowing that God, he was right. One of her hands clutched his black shirt as the other tangled in his hair, but she barely noticed. Damon nipped at her earlobe, knowing that it was another favorite spot of hers to be played with. He started gentle and then bit down, and she gasped but then moaned when his tongue flicked out to soothe the skin.

_Kiss me, _Damon heard her mind demand. He brought her head back up with his hand and saw his hunger reflected in Elena's eyes. He ached with want but continued to stare into her eyes, savoring the feeling of her returned desire.

_Kiss me._ He could deny her no longer. His lips crashed upon hers like a force of nature and then they were gone, no longer tethered to the earth by gravity but rather inside their own personal heaven. There were explosions, fireworks, thunder and lightning, all inside their united minds, and blood like liquid fire burned furiously through their scorched veins. Damon swooped Elena up into his arms and pushed her against the closed bathroom door, their kiss taking on a life of its own, intensifying and deepening until time and air meant nothing and all that mattered was getting closer, feeling every inch of one another, committing every single one to memory. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her towel began to come undone of its own accord, unfolding at the top and dropping to her navel. Elena didn't mind her exposure, in fact, she wanted to rid herself of the towel completely but was too wrapped up in Damon to care too much. His right hand was under her hip, holding her up and supporting her, while the left was drifting from her hair to explore Elena's newly exposed flesh.

She whimpered when Damon's lips left hers, causing him to grin as his mouth traveled to the elegant column that was Elena's pale neck. He kissed and nipped and set Elena ablaze all over again, and he could feel his sharp fangs extending in response to her pulsating veins. She felt them as well, and dropped her head back once again, offering him full access.

But Damon forced his fangs back inside, and repositioned her head so that he could kiss her again. _It's not your blood that I crave, though it is unrivaled in its perfection. I want _you_, Elena. _

As if to prove his point, Damon pressed his lower half against Elena's, and she moaned softly at the feel of his arousal pressing into her. _Then take me._

Within half a second Elena was on her bed, the towel forgotten, and Damon was on top of her.

If it were real, and not just a sweet dream, it would have been the best night of Damon's life.

…

Groggy and hung over - again, despite her previous swearing off of alcohol - Elena wandered out of bed and into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Damon was asleep on the couch, but Elena barely glanced at him, too focused on getting coffee into her system to notice much of anything.

They had hit another casino the night before, and had lost every dollar that they gambled. Elena made Damon promise not to Influence their way into any winnings, and by the end of the night she regretted that decision. But she still had fun and had gotten satisfactorily drunk, so she figured the night wasn't a total bust.

When she had downed her first cup of coffee, Elena poured a second and sat down in a chair opposite of the couch. She pulled her cell out of her robe pocket intending to check her messages but wound up dropping it when her eyes finally wandered to Damon's sleeping form.

Her mouth made an "o" shape. _Oh… my… God!_

He was sleeping on his back and one thin blanket covered him, doing nothing to mask the massively enlarged part of him that Elena was gawking at. She tilted her head and marveled at the tower-like shape. _Well. I guess _his _nature doesn't prevent those. _

Wondering if he was dreaming something that was causing such a, _ahem_, reaction, Elena decided to try to peek inside his head. She had never tried to enter a person's dreams before, and she wasn't all that good at reading thoughts, but she could do it if she was connected enough to the person. And when he wasn't trying to keep her out, Elena found her way inside Damon's head rather easily usually.

So she focused and opened up her mind to his. When she found her way inside she peeked into his dream and wound up gaping even more than she had been a moment before. Her first instinct was to scream and pull her mind back, but instead she froze and watched. And _watched_.

Finally she'd seen enough and yanked her mind out of his. She found herself panting, and gosh, it was hot! Why wasn't the AC on?

_It was like a porno in there,_ Elena thought to herself with wide eyes as she scuttled back to the bedroom. Damon had been doing things to her that she had only heard other girls whisper about during her high school days, and from the looks - and sounds - of things, she had definitely enjoyed it. Her pulse was racing and she was _still _hot. She contemplated a cold shower but then had a sobering thought that took away the need for one.

_Guess Damon's dream is the closest I'll ever get to any of _that stuff_, considering I'm marrying a vampire who believes in celibacy. _

She groaned and fell back into bed, pulling the covers over her head in defeat.

…

When Damon woke up he woke up smiling. He felt no lingering effect of the eight (yes, eight) bottles of vodka he had drank last night, and that _fantastic _dream was enough to put a spring into anybody's step. _Except Stefan_, he thought mockingly, smirking as he stretched and remembered the details of the dream. But soon his brows furrowed.

There had been something strange about one part of the dream, as if he had been being… _watched_. It had happened before, about three and a half centuries ago, when his brother had tried to peek into his dreams, but after staking Stefan in the gut after the first time it happened he hadn't had that problem ever again.

His eyes scanned the room and spotted the full cup of coffee on the table in between the couch and two chairs. _Aha_. Elena had awoken, come out for coffee, and being the curious little spy that she was, had stumbled into Damon's dream.

Damon thought back and remembered the point where he had realized he was being watched. He smirked. That had been the part where he… well, suffice it to say, he was quite sure that what she saw gave her quite a bit to think about.

_What a perfect way to start the day, _Damon thought triumphantly as he strolled to the bathroom to take a shower.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sooo, somehow this intended-to-be-lighthearted story has officially turned into an angstfest with this chapter. Oops :P. Song used is "Wicked Game", though not the original Chris Isaak version (ew) but the awesome acoustic Three Days Grace cover. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted. If I could send you each a batch of my homemade snickerdoodles I would (yum). Enjoy! :D**

Elena was getting ready for her third night of gambling while Damon was "running errands", which Elena knew could mean several things. Tonight she picked a gold one-shouldered dress to wear, though truthfully, she was getting a bit tired of the dresses. They were all beautiful, and she normally loved playing dress-up, but the way Damon looked at her when she wore them was getting to be a bit much. Especially now that she knew the kind of dreams she had been unwittingly starring in inside the vampire's head. She blushed at the memory, vowing to never again enter a person's dreams.

She ran her hairbrush through her shiny blonde locks one last time, hearing the doorknob jiggling. When Damon entered he stood in the doorway of the bedroom, arms crossed, eyes taking in his would-be princess of darkness. She grabbed her bag and tried not to let her discomfort show. But was it even discomfort? She didn't know anymore. Pleasure, pain, love, hate, joy, sadness, desire, loneliness… it was all starting to run together into a thick knot of overgrown emotions, like a wild untended garden. Deciphering just one feeling from the rest was becoming nearly impossible.

"Like it, I assume?" Elena finally said, breaking the silence.

His eyes burned into hers as he began to walk towards her, and her secret garden suffered another growth spurt. "Nothing is more beautiful than pure, perfectly refined, untainted gold." She hadn't noticed how close he had come to her until his fingers were caressing her cheek, making her pulse quicken. "Gold, when it is refined, is put through the fire, literally… it is a process that crumbles lesser substances, destroys them."

His voice was a mere whisper, and his lips were just brushing her ear enough to tickle them. "All the pain… all the hurt… enough to burn you alive. And yet," Damon tilted her head with his hand and looked deep into her dazed eyes, "it comes out the other side stronger and more beautiful than ever before."

Damon ran his cool fingers through Elena's long golden strands of hair, from root to tip. "So, yes. Gold suits you perfectly, angel."

Elena hated it when this hardened, sarcastic, stone-souled vampire waxed poetic over her, because she actually _loved _it. She knew that she shouldn't be pressed against him like she was. She knew that he was about to press his lips to hers, and she knew that she should really probably stop him. She should also most likely make him remove his hands from her hair and waist, because she had gone down this road before, and she knew where it led. But, his mind was starting to mingle with hers, and his sweet breath was dancing on her mouth, and those _eyes_… what else was a girl to do but surrender?

She closed her eyes and parted her lips, anticipating the fireworks that she had so secretly craved all this time.

But then his hands were gone, and those lips never came crashing down to hers. Confused, she opened her eyes and realized she was alone. Damon had disappeared, leaving her hanging, frustrated, not relieved as she probably should have been.

She could almost hear a smirk in the voice that entered her head. _Meet you at the car, angel._

…

Elena was so determined to be cranky that she only noticed halfway through the ride that this wasn't the black Porsche Damon had rented. It was some other kind of sportscar, similarly designed and also black, but different.

"I decided to switch it up," Damon smirked, elegantly obliterating the speed limit rather than just merely breaking it as he answered her thoughts.

"Get out of my head," Elena snapped.

"Just trying to make conversation," Damon replied innocently. "Somebody's awfully _testy_."

_I thought a woman such as yourself could handle a little tease,_ Elena heard his telepathic voice say. She closed off her mind completely and leaned against the passenger window, refusing to play Damon's games.

…

Not only was Elena completely ignoring him, but both she and Damon were on an epic gambling losing streak. Every game, every table, every move they made left their pockets empty, and it was really starting to piss Damon off.

"Screw this, I'm Influencing this entire casino," Damon resolved, getting further annoyed when Elena acted as if she didn't hear him and continued her doomed excursion into poker. "What, no objections?"

Elena quirked an eyebrow, silently folding her hand of cards. The dealer eyed the pair strangely, as did the rest of the participants at the table.

Damon's lips formed a hard line as he stared angrily at the oblivious Elena. Finally he pressed his lips to her ear.

"Stop ignoring me or I will call Stefan and tell him exactly where you are and who you're with." When Elena turned her head to glare at him, Damon added, "Don't think I won't."

Elena threw her cards and stood, then did something she had never done before. She used a slur against Damon that she had only heard lowlifes use in the past. "Leech."

And with that, she was off and stomping her way out of the casino, Damon close behind. She could feel his anger and it made her grin. She wasn't sure exactly why she was doing this - after all, the teasing incident was growing stale in her memory - but she couldn't stop.

"Elena, where are you going?" Damon asked, following her out the doors of the casino and on to the street.

She didn't answer, but kept walking until they reached a nightclub she had spotted on the way in.

…

It didn't take Elena long to get drunk, and Damon wasn't far behind, already tipsy from his considerable intake at the casino. He sat at the bar, a full bottle of scotch in his hand, watching the woman he loved sway on the dance floor.

Somehow she managed to remain graceful despite her inebriation, and he wanted so badly to be next to her, holding her, dancing with her the way a woman like her should be danced with. He wanted to kiss her the way she deserved to be kissed, touch her the way she should, please her as she should be pleased. And the killer part was, he knew that he _could _have her. Her surrender to him earlier was proof of that. But, if he had her here, in secret, behind the closed doors of their unspoken love, he knew it wouldn't be real. He wanted her to _choose _him, not give into him for a few forbidden moments. He wanted to be the one she came home to, the one she loved with the lights on rather than hidden in the safety of the dark, and he would no longer accept anything less. Half of her wasn't good enough. It never had been. And as much as it hurt him, as much as he wanted to be content with the stolen moments he knew that she would give him, he had to stand up and be a man. He wouldn't be toyed with, wouldn't be her Salvatore on the side.

She needed to choose, once and for all. Every moment that she stalled served only to further hurt herself and the brothers she loved.

Damon downed half the bottle in one swig, his eyes never leaving Elena.

_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you_

Her hips moved effortlessly, elegantly, and Damon was captivated.

_It's strange what desire will make foolish people do_

She ran her fingers through her silky hair, eyes closed, a tiny smile on her lips. He wondered what she was thinking about. Then he finished off the scotch in another gulp.

_I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you_

Elena didn't look like Katherine. Katherine looked like Elena, Damon thought to himself as he started on another scotch bottle. Elena was the original, unrivaled. Katherine was merely the devil that had led him to his angel.

_And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you_

Stefan's angel, he corrected himself. Stefan didn't deserve an inch of Elena. He wasn't worthy to kiss her toe. He couldn't even give her the love and appreciation for her body that she deserved.

_No, I don't want to fall in love _

If Elena were truly his, Damon would spend every minute of every day making sure she understood the extent of his love for her, in every way possible. He'd satisfy her every want, every need, make her cry out in pleasure. She'd be his Princess of Darkness, queen of his world, his everything.

And she was just out of reach. The pain of loving her was so great he sometimes wished she had never been born. At least then he'd never have to know the paradise that would never be his.

_No, I don't want to fall in love _

_With you _

Elena felt Damon's eyes on her, and no matter how hard she tried to lose herself in the music, she was hopelessly lost in him. She stole a glance at him and their eyes locked. His black eyes were ablaze and Elena felt the flame, savored it's lingering burn. She felt the most alive when she felt the exquisite pain that Damon inflicted on her. She withered slowly when she had to go without it. Since she had met him he had always been the match to her flame, the catalyst for the things she loved and hated most. Before him life had been simple. She had loved Stefan, and wanted to be with him forever. Easy, uncomplicated. Then Damon had crashed into her, making her question everything she thought she knew, everything she wanted. He discovered the darkness in her, darkness she never knew existed. He made her feel alive for the first time.

And for that, she hated him.

_What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way_

She watched him as he watched her, wanting him close to her. She craved him like an addict craves their poison. She used Stefan as her own personal rehab. But she couldn't get clean. She just couldn't.

_What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you_

If only they had never met. If only she had never known that Damon Salvatore existed.

_What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way_

The thought of not ever feeling his lips on hers again… never feeling his skin against her own… never again drowning in ecstasy when he tasted her blood… never burning from his mere touch again… she would rather simply stop breathing.

_What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you _

Their eyes were still locked. She struggled to keep it together, to make him think she was in control, when in reality, she was falling apart inside.

_No, I don't want to fall in love _

It was too late. She was already in love. And she couldn't find her way out.

_No, I don't want to fall in love _

_With you _


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: ok, kinda short chapter here, sorry. Also I just found out I need to finish this story before July 1st... wish me luck :P**

After enduring what was the most intense and painful stare-down of her life, Elena gave up and walked to the bar. Ignoring him wasn't going to work, obviously. And she had enjoyed dancing until the inevitable random, drunken grubby hands starting grabbing at her from all angles.

She sat beside Damon and ordered a drink. He continued staring at her. She refused to look him in the eyes again.

_You are making yourself look like a crazed stalker. _

_As opposed to what?_ Damon retorted. _What would you like me to look like? The supportive brother in law?_

Elena shook her head, sipping her drink. _Please stop._

_Elena, _Damon said, his voice taking a more forceful tone in her head, _you have a choice to make. And you need to stop running away from it like some pathetic coward. _

_I've already made my choice, _Elena answered, eyeing the ring on her finger. A sudden pain shot through her heart when she ran her other fingers over the sparkling diamond.

_Really? Is that why you were going to let me kiss you earlier?_

_That's not fair,_ Elena spat. _You just won't stop, you won't leave me alone. _

_Elena, you are about to get married. You're about to take vows of eternal loyalty to my brother. And your excuse for intending to betray him is that I wouldn't leave you alone? Can you not bring yourself to admit that, just maybe, your own feelings might have something to do with it?_

"Fine," Elena said out loud, finally daring to look into Damon's eyes and shuddering when she did. "You want me to be honest? Yes, I love you too, Damon. Big surprise, right? But I made my choice, and I chose Stefan. So whatever feelings I have for you don't matter. What else am I supposed to do? Be Katherine and try to have both of you?"

"Living in denial isn't much better," Damon replied. "At least Katherine stayed true to her own heart and knew what she wanted."

Elena gaped. "Well, then I'm sorry that I'm not as good as Katherine was. Maybe you should have run off with her when she gave you the chance."

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Elena, stop being dramatic."

"I came here to get away and have fun, and all you have done is make everything worse," Elena muttered, throwing the rest of her drink back and gesturing for another.

"And I was fully intending to do the same until I realized how determined you are to lie to yourself and convince yourself that you actually want to marry my brother."

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm so done with this." She reached in her bag for money to pay her tab but then realized she was broke. Great. "You're going to have to pay my tab, I'm officially broke."

A smirk crossed Damon's face. "About that…"

"What?" Elena asked impatiently.

He leaned over and whispered, "I'm broke, too."

She stared blankly. "How can you be broke? You're loaded."

"Nope," Damon announced as if he were proud of this fact. "_Stefan _is loaded, though I'm not entirely sure how. However, I generally pay my way through life by… let's just say… my own particular kind of currency."

"Right, you Influence people into letting you steal."

"No, no," Damon argued, feigning offense. "I never steal. Like I said, I just have my own way of paying."

"That makes you sound a lot like some sort of man-whore." Oh yes, Elena was definitely wasted.

"Oh Elena, such a vulgar mind you have to assume _that's _my method of payment," Damon teased, flashing his smile and then turning it off just as quickly.

"Whatever. But what are we going to do? I'm broke and you're broke, and we need money."

"Brilliant deduction," Damon laughed. "All that vodka go to your head?"

"Stop it, Damon, seriously! What are we going to do?"

"Well," he shrugged, "The hotel's paid for. I had to turn the rental in and… er… _obtain _our current vehicle. I can Influence our way into free alcohol for life but it looks like our gambling escapades are over. Unless you want me to make a withdrawal from a bank. Banks are always more than happy to donate to my cause."

Elena slammed her head into the bar. "This is so stupid."

"You shouldn't have assumed I was 'loaded', as you said," Damon shrugged. "I'm going to go fetch a snack. See you in ten."

And then Damon was gone, off to prey on some poor drunk girl, Elena figured. Well, this had quite literally turned into the vacation from hell.

…

When Damon returned - an hour later - Elena was fuming at him for making her wait so long. But he seemed… well… different.

"Eeee-le-naaaaa!" Damon screeched, coming at her with his arms outstretched. "Hope you didn't miss me too much, my delicious was just snack."

Elena dodged his hug and stared at him with wide eyes. "Oh my God, you're wasted! But I thought you couldn't really get drunk?"

"Oh I can get wasted," Damon slurred, clumsily running his fingers through her hair. "Especially when the blood I drink has more alcohol in it than a liquor store."

She shook off his hand and tried to help steady him so they could leave the club, but she was barely standing herself. "Get a hold of yourself, Damon, I'm too drunk to carry you out of here."

At this Damon started to laugh maniacally. Elena wanted to cry.

Eventually, they somehow managed to get to the car, which was when Elena realized stupidly late that neither of them were in driving condition. But they were also broke, and cab drivers didn't like getting ripped off. So, Elena tossed Damon in the passenger seat and decided to take her chances driving. She knew that she had just achieved the pinnacle of stupidity with this decision, but she continued on anyway.

She was painfully close to reaching the hotel when she glanced over and realized that Damon was passed out. In the time it took for her to glance, she ran a red light. Less than ten seconds later, flashing red lights appeared and signaled for her to pull over.

Panicking, Elena tried to shake Damon awake so he could Influence the cop away, but he was, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world. Knowing the car reeked of alcohol, Elena rolled down her window and prepared for her very first run-in with the law.

_As long as I live, _Elena seethed, glaring at Damon as he snored, _I'm blaming you for this. _


	9. Chapter 9

Elena wasn't sure when her fun little vacation had turned into something out of a bad country song, but right about now she was wishing she had just stayed home. Maybe it was getting charged with a DUI, or when the officer pointed out that not only was she driving drunk, she was driving a stolen car. Yeah. It was probably at that point when she realized the trip was officially an epic fail.

She had been sharing a jail cell with Damon for eight hours now, and he was _still _passed out. When he woke up she was going to kill him, she decided, though not before he could Influence them out of jail and get the charges dropped.

Elena was perched on the foot of the small, uncomfortable cot, watching Damon sleep. As angry as she was at the vampire, she found it hard to be mad at his sleeping form. It was the only time that his guard was ever down, the only time he didn't have a thick wall of steel protecting him. As close as they had gotten, Elena knew she still had a great deal to learn about Damon. He wasn't like Stefan, who kept every emotion he had ever had on full display on his sleeve. Sometimes Elena worried that the secrets Damon kept were truly as terrible as he sometimes hinted. But what could be so bad that she didn't already know? Did it really get much worse than being, in reality, a centuries-old serial killer? Maybe she was better off in the dark after all, she thought to herself.

Damon's foot twitched and Elena jumped, startled out of her daze. Then his eyes popped open and he shot up immediately.

His eyes took in the small cell they were confined to, surveyed the iron bars, then moved his attention to Elena. Her eyes were bloodshot and she couldn't have looked more out of place in her elegant gold dress. She glared at him as realization dawned on the vampire.

His expression quickly turned amused. "Well," Damon said, smirking at Elena's deep scowl, "guess it's not a real week in Vegas until you wake up in jail."

"Next time," Elena muttered, "tell me that the car is stolen before I get behind the wheel."

"Oops."

Elena glared even harder. How could he crack jokes at a time like this? "Just Influence me out of here so I can go home."

"Home? We still have the whole rest of the week here," Damon pointed out.

"You can stay as long as you want, but I'm going home," Elena replied. "This entire trip was a mistake. I don't know what I was thinking, coming here with you. I should know better by now."

Damon's brows furrowed. All this over one little night in jail? "Overreacting much, dear Elena?"

"Stop it, Damon, I'm serious. Get us out of here."

No, Damon thought, this was about a lot more than the whole DUI/grand theft auto thing.

"Okay, fine. But don't go back to Fell's Church yet. I still have a few… _activities _planned for us here," Damon replied.

She didn't know if he was trying to make one of his usual perverted jokes or not, and either way, right now she didn't care. She just wanted out of this disgusting little cell so she could forget any of this ever happened.

"Whatever."

…

Elena was first in the shower when they got back to the hotel (after ignoring Damon's suggestion that they "conserve water" by showering together), and when Damon went in after her, she hurriedly got dressed and started packing her things. If she were lucky, she might be able to make a run for the airport while he was washing off the stench of scotch that he wore so much lately.

But when Elena walked to the hotel room door, with her suitcase in hand, and quietly began to open it, the door suddenly slammed in front of her face and then her suitcase disappeared out of her grip. She turned around and found herself face to face with the always smirking - and currently only clad in a towel that hung on his hips - Damon.

"Come on, Elena - I save you from twenty years in prison and this is how you repay me?"

Elena drew in a deep breath. They were virtually nose to nose, and water was dripping lazily off of Damon's hair and onto her face. She fought the overwhelming urge to let her eyes fall from his face and admire the nearly-bare perfect body that was so alarmingly close to hers. His scent was intoxicating, and his stare was enough to make Elena instantly unable to come up with her usual witty comeback. "Um…"

Damon leaned in and gently brushed the hair out of her face, coming dangerously and tantalizingly close to brushing his lips against hers before huskily informing her, "Elena, you're phone is ringing."

Then he was gone, on the other side of the room within half a second. Elena gasped and reached in the pocket of her jeans for her phone, pulling it out and answering it without checking the caller ID first. "Hello?"

"Hello my beautiful fiancée," Stefan's voice answered, immediately sobering Elena up.

"Stefan!" she squeaked, glancing across the room at Damon, who was rummaging through his suitcase for clothes. He stiffened at the sound of his brother's name, but only for a moment. "Gosh, it seems like it's been forever since I've heard your voice."

"Yes, I agree, this week is one of the longest of my life," Stefan answered sweetly.

"I know, I can't wait until…" Elena stopped mid-sentence and stood with her mouth unashamedly agape. As if she weren't there - or maybe _because _she _was _there - Damon had dropped the towel to the floor, revealing to her his full shape in all it's glory. It was a magnificent, unbelievably tempting sight to Elena, who completely forgot that she was on the phone with her fiancé while she stared at his naked brother.

Elena watched silently as he slipped on a pair of boxers, then black jeans. Out of the corner of his eye Damon caught her staring and turned, smirking at her reddening face. "Oh, sorry, forgot you were there," he lied as he started buttoning up a black silk shirt.

"Elena?" Stefan murmured. "Hello…"

With a jump she snapped out of her stupor. "Sorry, I… dropped my phone." Elena lied, ignoring Damon's chuckle at her lame cover-up.

"It's okay, my love," Stefan replied. "I… when… home…"

Elena frowned at the breaking phone connection. "Stefan, you're breaking up. Stefan? Hello?"

It was no use. The line was dead. She frowned deeper and tossed her phone aside, walking to her bed and falling defeatedly on it. She threw a pillow over her head and commenced sulking, though before she could sulk for even two minutes the pillow was thrown away and a vampire was lying next to her.

"Ready to go?" Damon asked excitedly, arm propped up on a pillow, supporting his head. Elena opened one eye and tried to pull the covers over her head. He yanked them away and she started whimpering.

"I just want to go to sleep, I couldn't sleep at all last night," she moaned.

"Oh come on, Elena, you can sleep when you're dead," he cracked.

"Just leave me alone."

"Fine. You have until five. Then we are leaving."

Elena groaned and turned away from him, burrowing under the covers and falling asleep almost the very moment her eyes closed.

…

Elena's dream was a cluttered mess of images and sounds, more of a recap of the last few days than anything, but there was one constant theme that she kept coming back to; a pair of dark, sparkling eyes. They were what she held on to when the world started spinning, when the sights and sounds became confusing. The eyes were calm yet intense, and they seemed to hold the whole world in their midnight irises. And when she finally awoke, she awoke to those very same eyes gazing into her own. And a pair of arms hugging her close to a firm body.

It felt good, and she didn't want to protest. She closed her eyes again and exhaled deeply, wanting to retreat back into slumber, but it was five o'clock, and Damon was ready to take her on their next adventure. "Wake up, princess."

She groaned. "Five more minutes."

"Nope," he replied, tracing her jaw with his finger.

Elena groaned again, full consciousness dawning on her. Suddenly she became aware that Damon was cradling her and why that wasn't a good thing. She pushed herself away from him and stumbled out of bed. "Geez, Damon, could you at least keep your hands to yourself while I'm sleeping?"

Damon shrugged. "You wouldn't stop tossing and turning. I was doing you a favor."

She sighed and yawned loudly. "Can we just get this over with, whatever it is?"

Damon flashed his smile. "With pleasure."

…

Carless, they took a cab to the strip. Elena didn't ask how Damon had magically come up with a huge wad of money after being penniless the night before, opting to be ignorant and therefore innocent. She was just glad he decided to use cabs rather than steal random sports cars.

When they arrived at their destination, Damon opened her door and took her hand after paying the cabbie. "Ready?" He asked with a devilish grin.

"I… hope so," Elena replied. "Can you tell me what's going on now?"

The cab sped away and Damon motioned to the huge structure that stood in front of them. It resembled a construction tower, puzzling Elena at first, but then she saw a body fly off the top of the structure, tethered seemingly by a mere string due to the distance, and Elena realized what Damon had planned for them.

She turned to the vampire and grinned. "Bungee jumping?"

Damon nodded, returning her grin. "Off the tallest bungee tower in the world."

Most girls would squeal and try to run away, but not Elena. This was perfect. It was the type of thing she had always wanted to do but never had anyone to do it with. Damon, for all his faults and criminal behavior, clearly knew her better than she had ever given him credit for. "Do you like it?" he asked.

"I _love _it," Elena squealed, running ahead of him, dragging him with her through their still-clasped hands.


	10. Chapter 10

Even the gutsiest of girls who have seen the unthinkable can still get the jitters over something as generally safe as bungee jumping.

"What if the harness breaks? I'm human - I'll die, but you'll be fine," Elena rambled as she looked around frantically. She and Damon were in their harnesses and ready to jump, but Elena found herself developing a crippling fear of heights alarmingly quickly.

"Elena," Damon said calmly, taking her face in his hands, "do you really think that I'd let anything happen to you?"

Elena gulped and stared into his eyes, her breath slowing and heart rate slowly returning to normal. She did trust him, more than she probably should. "No," she replied breathlessly. "I trust you."

"Okay," Damon replied, taking her tightly into his arms. "Hold on to me and close your eyes."

His voice was a mere whisper against her ear, and she shivered as she did as he said. Her arms wrapped tightly around him and she breathed into his shoulder, their bodies pressed firmly against one another's. Just when her breathing had finally returned to normal and she had overcome her nerves, her feet were no longer on the ground and she was plummeting headfirst into nothing.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and she clutched Damon for dear life, glad that he had told her to keep her eyes closed. Damon, who experienced thrills like humans experience breakfast, chuckled at her blood-curdling scream. Elena finally opened her eyes when they reached the end of the initial jump and bobbed back up, and that was when her fear dissipated and a huge smile broke across her face. She looked around at the whirling earth all around them and instead of screaming began to let out hoots of sheer exhilaration. It was the most free she had ever felt, the most blissfully carefree and _young_, happy, like the world could be hers for the taking if she merely reached out and took hold of it. Her mind had never been so clear, and in the midst of her jubilation, she experienced what could only be called a true, undeniable epiphany.

_I can't marry Stefan_.

The words rocked Elena to her core, appearing out of nowhere like a flashing, gigantic billboard, but making no apologies for their presence. She tried to push them out of her mind out of sheer instinct, but they refused to budge.

_I can't marry Stefan. I can't marry Stefan. I can't marry Stefan._

Slowly the words sunk in and realization replaced shock. With wide eyes she uttered the four words that sealed her fate.

"I can't marry Stefan."

If he had been a mere human he wouldn't have heard Elena's feeble whisper against his shoulder. They were riding the last few little bobs of the harnesses, and Damon's dead heart almost stopped all over again at the four little fateful words. "What did you just say?"

Elena didn't answer, instead just burying her face further into Damon's shoulder as they hung upside down. Damon's mind poked at hers and she let him in. He found a clarity and strange calm that he had never seen in her mind before.

_You're sure, Elena_?

_Yes_.

…

"What does this mean?" Damon asked, sitting on a bench with Elena, who was rather elegantly scarfing down a hot dog. Apparently epiphanies can make a girl hungry.

"I don't know," Elena replied. "I just know that I can't marry him."

"Can't marry him right now, or ever?" Damon asked.

Elena shrugged, swallowing her last bite of hot dog. "Damon, can you give me more than fifteen minutes to figure all this out?"

"Sorry," Damon murmured.

Elena paused a moment, then made another decision. "We need to go home. Today. Stefan needs to know as soon as possible, and I'm not going to tell him over the phone."

Damon nodded. "Okay."

"Gosh," Elena sighed, "I can't believe it took me this long to see this. Everything is so wrong… I mean, I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life!"

Damon may have been more comfortable with Elena's declarations if he had any idea where this left him, but he had no clue, and he wasn't sure it would be smart to ask.

"And my friends were all about to let me! You know what? Caroline was a better friend to me than Bonnie and Meredith combined, she told me I never should have gotten engaged. And I thought she was just being a jerk. I should have listened, she knows me way better than they do, honestly." Elena glanced at Damon and was surprised by the serious look on his face. She expected him to throw a party at the news. "Why aren't you… I don't know… celebrating?"

Damon shrugged. "I'm glad that you have made a decision."

That's it? "Damon, what's wrong?"

"I'm just waiting for you to have another epiphany so that you can tell me where _I _stand."

Elena leaned back against the bench and placed her hand over one of Damon's. "I think… that I just need to go home and spend some time by myself. Just to think, sort everything out. You know?"

He nodded. "I will be waiting for your answer."

She gave him a small smile. "I'm still pissed at you for the whole jail thing, but thank you for bringing me out here. I was not anticipating _this _happening, but it scares me to think what would have happened if we hadn't gone on this trip."

"Well, what can I say," Damon shrugged, "Who wouldn't dump their fiancé after a week with me?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "The whole 'get naked while I talk to Stefan on the phone' thing was kind of desperate, though."

Damon raised an eyebrow, his trademark smirk starting to form on his lips. "Look, bottom line - the wedding's off, so mission accomplished. Period."

Elena couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips.

…

Damon made quick work of packing at the hotel. Elena spent most of her time on the phone with the airline, Damon's movements a whirling blur of inhuman speed in front of her. He had everything re-packed and the room sparkling clean in the five minutes Elena spent on her phone.

"Wow. Vampires should be professional movers," Elena muttered when she looked over Damon's work.

He shrugged. "Vampires have to be able to leave places quickly, so you kind of pick up the skill after a few hundred years."

Elena smiled. "I try not to think about how old you and Stefan are. It's kind of creepy."

Damon flashed his smile. "Ah, before we go… I have a gift."

There was another blur of movement and then Damon was in front of her, a long but thin black box in his hands. "Damon…"

"Shhh," he quickly interrupted. "It's nothing if not practical."

Fighting a blush, Elena took the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a breathtakingly beautiful gold necklace with a large but not at all gaudy lapis lazuli pendant. "Wow," Elena smiled, touching the pendant tentatively. "It's gorgeous."

"It's also laced in vervain, thus practical," Damon smiled. "I got it to match your blue dress."

"Oh," Elena frowned. Now she felt guilty for never wearing the gown that he had picked out for her their first day here.

"But I bought the dress to match your eyes, so you can wear this with anything," Damon said, lifting the piece of jewelry from the black box and then moving behind Elena.

He could hear her pulse quicken as he brushed her long blonde locks aside, exposing her long, pale neck. Her eyes closed when the gold touched her skin, and Damon unashamedly took his time in clasping the necklace secure.

Elena felt familiar confusion replacing newfound clarity in her head when Damon's hands danced from her neck to her shoulders and on down her arms to her hands, where his fingers softly entwined with hers. His breath ghosted along the side of her neck and followed to her ear, and when he turned her around to face him, Elena had a brief fleeting thought.

_Well, why not? Wedding's off, right?_

Not until Stefan knows, Elena quickly corrected herself.

But Damon was so close, so unbearably _close_, and Elena knew all he would have to do was take her and she would be helpless to protest. That was probably the top reason why she couldn't marry Stefan. How could one pledge their love to somebody when obviously deeply affected by another?

Damon's lips grazed her cheekbone, softly down her jaw, and to her neck. His gums ached with desire as her blood drummed furiously through her throbbing veins but he didn't allow his fangs to descend. Instead, as he lovingly caressed her skin with kisses, he asked her a question telepathically.

_Just one kiss_?

Elena's heart thudded with emotion. Here was Damon - dark, unapologetic, selfish Damon - who knew the power he had over her better than anyone and knew that she would surrender. But he was asking her permission rather than simply taking what he wanted. Was it indeed possible to tame this wild vampire, this panther, as she had always pictured him in her mind?

She wanted to kiss him with all of her heart and soul. There was no use in denying that. And when he raised his head and their eyes met, desire exploded like a time bomb all throughout her body.

But she was frozen. Her lips still weren't hers to give away to him. She wouldn't betray Stefan.

Damon watched her decision as it was made inside her head. He understood and accepted it. And then he took her by her shoulders and within half a second Elena was underneath him on the bed.

His face was millimeters from hers and her heart beat wildly in surprise, teasing his bloodlust with its tantalizing melody. His body was pressed down over hers and she reveled at the feel of his weight on her, her imagination going wild with what _really _being with him would be like.

"You _will _be mine, Elena," Damon informed her, his voice silky and rough at the same time. Her pulse quickened even further. "I have waited this long, and I can wait a bit longer. But you _will _be mine. Forever."

And then his lips kissed hers softly. It was a ghost of a kiss, featherlike, and not one that asked for a response. It was simply a promise of what was to come, and an expression of his intense, unashamedly possessive love.

Then he was gone, and Elena instantly missed the feel of him on her. She fought for each ragged breath, feeling like she couldn't breathe without him.

It took her a moment but eventually Elena regained function of her limbs. She and Damon's luggage was gone and she knew he was waiting in the cab for her.

She stood, straightened her shirt and took a deep breath. She had to get herself together - after all, she was about to break her fiancé's heart.

…

The plane ride was quiet. Elena slept for most of it, using Damon's shoulder as a decent pillow substitute. She knew that otherwise she would just stress herself out and obsess over what she was about to do. But she never doubted the rightness of her decision. She loved Stefan but there was no way she could marry him in her current… condition. He deserved someone who would love him and only him, and not have to fight feelings for somebody else, let alone his brother.

Many restless dreams later, Damon gently awoke Elena, alerting her that they had landed.

With a heavy heart and heavier guilt, Elena walked with Damon off of the plane and into the airport. They got a cab and headed for the boarding house. Nobody knew they were back yet, and Elena planned to call Stefan when she got home and ask him to cut his vacation short.

But she didn't have to. When they arrived at the house, Stefan's car was there, and Elena felt panic start to grip her. Damon simply became confused.

"He came back early?" Elena exclaimed frantically. "But he didn't tell me… Oh my God, Damon, what if he came back to surprise me?"

Damon eyed her, brows furrowed. "He would have called you when you weren't home,"

Elena checked her phone. No texts, no missed calls.

"And then he would have checked with your friends to figure out where you were."

Elena frowned. "I never told them where I was going."

"I know," Damon replied.

None of it made any sense.

They exited the cab, and Damon turned into a crow.

_Whatever's going on, I think it's best I not be around for the conversation you're about to have with him, _he explained as he nestled in a nearby oak tree.

Elena sighed and walked towards the front door of the boarding house. She fought a smile when she heard Damon's voice once more.

_I'm waiting for you_.

When she walked inside the house, she found Stefan sitting at the bottom of a nearby staircase, his face grim.

"Stefan." Her voice came out as a broken whisper.

He lifted his eyes to hers and muttered dejectedly, "Have fun in Vegas?"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm sad, this story is coming to an end :( Opening lyrics are from "Lost in You" by Three Days Grace. Oh and to answer amythest's question from her review, noooooo, I have never bungee jumped and never will, it's suicide with harnesses! Although I might do it if Damon were holding on to me, hee hee. Anyway... you can expect one more chapter after this one. And now I need ideas for a new story. :P And P.S., sorry if the physical-ness is weird, I used to write it better before I got married, which makes no sense. Experience doesn't always help, I guess, LOL. Okay, shutting up now. **

_The pain of it all_

_The rise and the fall_

_I see it all in you_

_Now everyday_

_I find myself saying_

_I want to get lost in you_

_I'm nothing without you_

Elena was speechless. She stood frozen in the doorway, knowing that her silence was as good a confirmation of her guilt as any. Stefan, however, simply pursed his lips and motioned for her to sit beside him on the staircase.

She reluctantly obeyed, trying to remind herself that she hadn't done anything to feel guilty over, besides gambling with the money Stefan had left her before leaving for Italy. She looked into the vampire's deep green eyes and asked the obvious question. "How did you know?"

Stefan smiled bitterly. "I never went to Italy, Elena."

Her brows furrowed. "What?"

"I'm not an idiot. I can tell when something is up with you, and something has been wrong for a long time," he explained. "It took me awhile but I figured out that it was Damon, when he was gone for that month. I really couldn't believe I hadn't seen it earlier."

Elena cast her eyes to her feet. Now the shame was setting in. Maybe she wasn't a physical adulterer but she was clearly not innocent of the sin. Knowing she had been hurting Stefan this long made Elena want to hate herself.

"So I made up a fake trip, so I could leave you to yourself and let you sort yourself out. I guess you could call it a test."

"Nothing happened, Stefan," Elena squeaked.

"I know."

Elena eyed Stefan curiously. "What, were you following us?"

"No. Damon would have sensed me three states away. But Bonnie was sort of… _watching _you for me."

Elena let out a deep breath and looked at the stunning engagement ring on her left hand, grief washing over her in the wake of what they both knew was the end of their relationship.

"I'm not going to fight him for you," Stefan said. "I'm not going down that road again. And I know that you haven't truly been mine for awhile now, so I would be fighting for something that I have already lost."

"I don't know how it happened, Stefan," Elena muttered, a tear falling from her eye. "Everything was so perfect and I knew exactly what I wanted… and then I just didn't."

"I know," Stefan replied. "It's not your feelings I resent, Elena. I only want happiness for you. What I resent is the fact that if I had never left, you would have married me and allowed me to believe the lie that you had convinced yourself of."

"I'm worse than _her_," Elena said, burying her face in her hands.

Stefan reached an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Don't be silly, love."

Elena flinched at his touch. "Why are you acting like this? Why aren't you angry? Why don't you hate me? I deserve to be hated!"

"Shh," Stefan urged, soothing her. "Elena, like I said before, I have known for awhile. This was just my last effort to… I don't know, I just hoped that you would choose me. But I wasn't surprised when you didn't."

Elena wiped her eyes dry and slowly, painfully, slid the diamond ring off of her finger. Stefan's hand opened to take it. One last tear slipped out as she dropped the piece of jewelry into his hand.

Stefan drew Elena into an embrace. She rested her head on his tense shoulder and marveled at how she had never deserved this man. He was losing his fiancée to his brother, and yet he was the one comforting her, assuring her all would be okay, when he was the one ending up alone! But Elena knew she shouldn't be surprised - this was, after all, quintessential _Stefan_.

Stefan dropped a kiss into her hair, releasing her from his embrace. "I'm going to leave for awhile. As much as I don't want to be a sore loser, I don't really want to endure my brother's insufferable gloating."

"I don't think that I could ever express to you how sorry I am," Elena frowned, "for everything. I really hate myself."

"Don't," Stefan answered.

Elena's head found Stefan's shoulder again. Distantly, she heard the soft _caw _of a crow outside as she held on to the man that was no longer her fiancé, mourning the final moments of the relationship that had irrevocably changed them both and yet, despite their greatest efforts, hadn't survived.

…

After Stefan left, Elena had gone into the room that they shared and, mindlessly, begun tearing her clothes out of the closet. It seemed wrong for her things to be mixed with his, like they were defiling his possessions somehow. He may have let her go as graciously as one possibly could, but she felt hardly worthy of anything but hate.

Armed with a random pile of her clothes, Elena took them and headed to a spare bedroom that she used to use as her own, a long time ago, and that she used now as a hiding place for her wedding dress.

_Her wedding dress_. Now she was going to cry all over again, Elena thought dejectedly, as she entered the mostly empty bedroom.

She tossed her clothes aside and headed to the closet. She reached deep in the back of the small space and pulled out the dress, tears stinging the backs of her eyes but not falling as she looked it over through the protective plastic.

She wasn't sure why, but soon Elena found herself in the adjoining bathroom, pulling on the heavy white ball-gown style dress. Maybe she wanted to see herself as the bride she would never be one last time, or maybe she simply wanted to mourn the loss of the perfect dream wedding dress, but either way, it seemed the therapeutic thing to do. Once the dress was on, she walked back out into the bedroom, where a full-length mirror awaited. She let out a squeak of shock when she found Damon sitting on the bed, awaiting as well.

Damon's face wasn't a smirking contortion of perverse gloating, as most would have expected. Instead it was soft, sweet almost, and tender as he took in the sight of Elena in the dress she was to marry Stefan in. "Oh, Damon, you scared me," Elena sighed, bringing a hand to her chest.

"Sorry," Damon answered, standing and walking slowly to her.

"I assume you were eavesdropping so I don't need to tell you what happened," Elena muttered, dropping her eyes at the sadness of the memory.

Damon nodded. "Yeah."

Elena turned towards the mirror, seeing a stranger in her reflection. She saw the girl she had always wanted to be, the girl she had been before the events that had shaped her life had taken place. That was the girl that could have been Stefan's bride, could have worn this dress without looking like an obscene imposter. But that girl was gone. And Elena missed her. Just a little bit.

Damon stood behind her, his eyes gazing intently at her, and Elena saw the metaphor in the image inside the mirror. Damon was behind her transformation, as he always had been. He was the dark prince that had stumbled on to Elena as an innocent princess and had watched over her, challenging her, frightening her, pushing her, and loving her as she had grown into the woman she was always meant to be. He wasn't the knight in shining armor that Stefan had strived to be. Rather, Damon had taken to the shadows, always watching and waiting, and always there when Elena had needed him most.

"Damon," Elena breathed, and he stepped closer.

"Yes, Princess?" he asked, unable to stop himself from reaching out to touch the woman that no longer belonged to another.

The bare skin of her shoulders tingled where his fingers brushed. "Help me take it off," she all but whispered, watching his face intently through the mirror. He seemed more beautiful than ever, yet also darker, and still yet more peaceful, as well. Elena could feel his mind and knew that the wild hurricane was still there, still raging, but it seemed as if rather than riding the wild waves, he was controlling them, at peace with them, like he was safe in the eye of the storm. The storm, however, was more powerful than ever.

Without a word, Damon's hands moved to her back. His fingertips traced their way down to the buttons of the gown, which he undid slowly. He could feel Elena shivering, shuddering, but her skin was warm to his touch. It took all of his willpower to not take her in his arms in that very moment and never let go.

When the buttons were out of the way, Damon's hands moved to her waist, where her hands came up to cover his. Together they began pushing the expensive fabric down, freeing Elena's body, and Damon's senses flooded with her intoxicating scent. His jaw clenched, but it did little to curb the staggering lust that he was fighting and losing to.

They pushed the dress to the floor and Damon took one of her hands, helping her step out of the gown she would never wear again. She turned to him, now only in her white lace undergarments and lapis lazuli necklace, and stared into his black eyes, true finality coming over her. "It's over."

"It's over," Damon confirmed, one arm taking her bare waist, the other reaching to Elena's face. Her hands came to rest on his chest, and for the first time, she felt only desire - desire that wasn't followed by guilt or shame. What had before seemed so wrong and yet so beyond her control now felt undeniably right, not as if pieces of a puzzle were falling into place, but as if she could clearly see the puzzle for the first time.

Elena's hands gripped Damon's black collar, and he reveled in the feel of her pulling his face to hers. He didn't want to take his eyes away from hers, but when her soft lips touched his long-waiting ones, both of their eyes closed and the whole universe exploded into fire around them.

Her lips crashed down on his furiously, and he responded hungrily, anxiously, almost awkwardly, as if it were his very first kiss. And it was a first, a fantastic, unbelievable, ecstatic first, the first time Damon had kissed Elena as his _own_.

Auras became one and minds collided as the kiss deepened, and this time no barriers survived. They could see only explosions, fires, burning stars, all being sucked into a single, smoldering flame. None could be tamed, nor extinguished, but became stronger as they fused together into a single power.

Elena could almost cry at the exhilarating rush of finally being free. She gripped Damon's silky black hair between trembling fingers, committed his every touch to her eternal memory, burned with passion from the sheer beauty of his mouth on her own, and if she died tomorrow she knew she would die happy. The thought that she had been missing out on this for so long was profane, and not welcome in this moment of celebration.

Damon broke the kiss long enough to move them to the bed with one quick inhumanly fast movement, and Elena found herself in a familiar position underneath the vampire. But unlike last time, Elena was able to kiss him the way she wanted, pull him closer, touch him wherever she pleased, and her every touch seemed to drive Damon to the edge of a very pleasurable madness.

She realized the inequality of their clothing situations and started working on removing Damon's black silk shirt, grinning when halfway through he growled and tore the thing to shreds. They experienced the feel of his cool but currently overheated skin on her delicate, breakable human skin for the first time. Damon allowed Elena to overpower him, giving in when she tried to push him down and take position over him. But it only lasted a moment, and soon Damon was on top of her again, wild in his quest to take in every inch of her.

He was showering her neck with urgent kisses, suckling and nipping, when Elena felt the sharp fangs drag down her skin. She felt Damon's instinctual inner conflict, his bloodlust and human lust fighting for dominance, and Elena wanted him to know that he didn't have to choose between the two. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pressed his head against the throbbing vein in her neck, whispering wordlessly through her mind, _I want you, in every possible way. _

Sweeter words couldn't have been spoken to the vampire. A growl escaped his throat as he let his sharp teeth extend to their full length, and he pressed a grateful kiss to her skin before he gently bit down and broke into it.

Giving Damon her blood had always been a pleasurable, otherworldly experience, but she found it to be unexplainably sweeter giving it to him now, no longer belonging to his brother but to him, and she knew he felt the difference too. It was palpable, consuming, and _binding_.

A few dreamy, dazed moments later, Damon had captured her lips again, and somehow had produced a knife seemingly out of thin air, which he used to make a small cut in his own neck. She pressed her lips to the wound and tasted the sweet, sticky blood, the gratefully drank, losing herself in the pounding waves of emotion that grew only stronger and stronger.

Afterwards Damon pulled her up, placing her on his lap, where she straddled him and kissed him softly. Her hair was a mess of tangles in his hands, and his own had been pulled more times in the last five minutes than in his entire existence, but each sensation was pure pleasure. He pulled away for a moment and they stared into one another's eyes, chests heaving with breaths that they couldn't catch, and Elena finally found her voice.

"Promise me," she said breathlessly, tracing the flushed skin on Damon's face with her fingers.

"Anything," Damon pledged.

Her request needed but only one word. "Forever."

A small smile grew on the vampire's lips, a rare genuine smile that melted Elena into a gooey puddle. Damon wished to give her the world, the whole universe, anything and everything that she could ever want, and he would. He would start with this request, and never stop as long as he lived.

"Forever."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ok last chapter. Song is "Music Again" by Adam Lambert. This is sorta an epilogue... had to tie up the story :-) Thanks to everybody for reviewing and favoriting and reading. I vant to hug all of youz. :D**

_And I know in some ways we're kinda evil_

_Got my roots and you've got ties_

_But my heart's no stranger to upheaval_

_Put your little hand in mine and look into my eyes_

_baby eyes_

Elena didn't have to open her eyes for the light flowing in through a nearby window to hurt them. She clenched her eyelids tight and stretched, the pounding of her head distracting her from the fact that she had no idea where she was.

Suddenly opening her aching eyes, Elena sat up in the unfamiliar bed and looked down to her left, where a nude and barely covered Damon lay happily unconscious, face down on his pillow. Elena then realized her own state of undress, and in another moment noticed the strange heaviness on her left hand.

She gasped when her eyes took in the giant, almost novelty sized, princess cut diamond on her ring finger. It felt as if it weighed ten pounds, but the beauty of the stone left her breathless. However, the ring was definitely cause for alarm when coupled with awaking naked in a strange room with a similarly bare vampire.

Elena shook Damon, not bothering to be gentle. When he didn't respond, she shook harder. When he still didn't respond, she slapped him across his beautifully tranquil face.

He awoke with a start, nearly flying out of bed. "What happened?"

It reminded her of the time in Vegas when they woke up sharing a bed for the first time. "I'm not sure. Where are we?" Elena asked, her pulse speeding up at Damon's disheveled look. His hair was everywhere and his dark eyes were blinking rapidly, and she loved these rare vulnerable moments. Not to mention he was always especially sexy upon first waking up.

"Uh…" the question seemed to stump the normally unflappable Damon.

"Any clue what this is?" Elena asked, flashing her huge diamond rock. Damon's eyes widened and then turned to the window, where he stood only half a second later. Elena couldn't help but blush at the sight of the still-nude Damon dashing across the room, drawing the curtains and looking out into the view.

Damon turned back to Elena with a smirk. "You don't remember?"

She shrugged. "It's all a blur."

"Well," Damon murmured, sauntering towards the bed, "for one, we're in Vegas."

Elena's eyes narrowed.

Damon bent and picked up an article of clothing from a pile of their discarded clothes off of the floor. "And this," he said, sitting down next to Elena and placing the item in her lap, "is what you wore last night. Might help jog your memory."

It was a white dress, floor length, embellished with lace. Around the waist was a black silk sash that tied in the back into a simple bow. It had a high, lacey neck - old fashioned and obviously a detail that existed only to drive Damon wild. Elena fingered the soft material and started to remember. Damon took her hand and raised it to his lips, where he kissed her soft skin until he got to her ring, which he kissed as well.

Elena's blue eyes searched his black ones as she made the connections in her head. "Did we…?"

He smirked, but it wasn't his usual cocky grin. "Did we what, Princess?"

The familiar pet name sent the memories flooding back to Elena in one heated rush. "Oh my God. We got married. In Vegas."

Damon nodded, smiling lovingly at his beloved as he traced her cheekbones with cool fingers. "Remember, we agreed that since nothing was traditional about us, nothing about our wedding should be, either?"

Elena smiled, her hangover fading due to the overwhelming happiness threatening to take over. "I can't believe we really did it."

Her words had a double meaning, they both knew. Elena blushed, remembering what happened after the shotgun wedding. Damon's princess of darkness, dear angelic Elena, was at last no longer a virgin. And Damon didn't have to read her thoughts to know that that was where her mind was.

It had been perfect. Damon had been perfect. _Everything _had been perfect, and Elena wanted to relive that night over and over again. The gentle, loving way that he had touched her, undressed her, respected her, and pleased her was even more amazing than she had imagined. So long she had wanted to truly be his, to belong to him, and now she did in every way. Peace lived where unrest once did in her heart, and Elena knew that nothing would ever take away that peace.

Damon kissed her cheeks softly, his hands tangling in her hair as he moved his lips to her ear, where he groaned, "Tell me your name."

"Elena," she breathed, her heart pounding wildly as his familiar, enticing scent flooded her senses and caused her to shudder at yet even more memories of the previous night.

"Your _full _name," Damon corrected. The vibration of his voice rippled through her skin and Elena felt as if a scorching fever had broken across her entire body.

She caught what little was left of her breath. "Elena Salvatore."

Damon pulled back long enough to bore his blazing eyes into hers for just one fleeting moment before a growl erupted from his throat and the thin sheet covering her body was gone and she was under him.

"That's right," Damon whispered, tasting her eager lips and enjoying the sensations of their bodies fitting together. "You're mine, Princess."

She smiled against his lips, her fever having evolved into something of a blazing inferno. "Yours, finally."

He gently tugged her hair and unlocked their lips, looking down seductively into her eyes as he murmured, "You know that I'm never going to let you go. I'm never going to let you walk away from me."

"I would never want to," Elena gasped, squirming against him, desperate for more contact. "Please, Damon."

His name as a plea on her swollen lips nearly made his eyes roll to the back of his head. "Please, what? What does my princess want?"

Elena wanted to scream. He knew exactly what she wanted. "You," she panted.

He smirked, showering her neck with maddeningly tiny kisses. "You have me."

She tried to flip them over so that she could be on top of him, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her pillow, on either side of her head, making her whimper. "Tell me what you want," Damon commanded before dropping his head and nuzzling the peaks of her chest, refusing her the kind of attentions she really wanted until she spoke the words.

"I want you," Elena whimpered, arching towards him, wanting to cry when he always angled so that she didn't get what she wanted. "I want you forever, like this, always."

"I am yours, forever, I promise," Damon answered, bringing his lips to hers again, releasing her wrists and moving his hands down her body, giving in to her pleas. "If you can handle the pleasure I'm going to make you feel every single day for the rest of eternity."

Elena shivered. She looked into his hooded, lusty eyes and somehow managed to find her voice. "Prove it."


End file.
